FIFA bars Palestinians from hosting 2 world cup matches

GENEVA

The world’s top football governing body FIFA has decided against allowing the Palestinian Football Association the opportunity to host two 2018 World Cup qualifying matches on Palestinian territories for security reasons.

The Emergency Bureau for the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers has decided that "Palestine’s upcoming 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Saudi Arabia and Malaysia, scheduled to take place in Palestine, both need to be played on neutral ground," FIFA said in a statement Wednesday.

FIFA said the decision was taken after the "Palestinian government confirmed that it could no longer guarantee the safety and security around the matches in question".

The Palestine-Saudi Arabia match, which was originally scheduled for Nov. 5, will now be played on Nov. 9, while the Palestine-Malaysia match will be played as planned on Nov. 12.

FIFA asked the Palestinian association to inform the governing body about details of the neutral ground in Asia that could host both matches in November.